Boredom is one of those things that can easily turn into frenzied activity in my case.
Some background: I was an avid sketcher on pretty much anything made of paper while I was growing up. I was actually thinking seriously about entering the comic book artist field at one point, but then my dad reminded me how "much" a comic book artist makes, which cemented my computing career.
Still, up through high school (and a much lesser degree, college) I did a lot of drawing. Some of my less demanding HS classes generated more drawings in my notebooks than actual notes.
So about a week ago I recaught the bug (which had been percolating for a long while, to be fair) to take up drawing again, but this time to do it right as regards equipment and time, and possibly go all the way to pastels and the like. You know, color.
So the photo here is of my shiny new drawing desk, canted to a nicely rakish angle. I woke up wanting to draw a black widow spider, and so, after a brief Google Image Search for a suitable photo, I did. :-D You've got to love a creative use for the laptop stand I grabbed on a whim a few weeks ago. Medium: graphite pencils for the black & white, and Prismacolor lightfast colored pencils for the admittedly less interesting color bits.
I hate my ankles, and they return the favor
On a less wonderful note, as I was unloading the desk from the Altima yesterday evening, I rolled my foot off the edge of the concrete slab that is the floor of my garage, and sprained my left ankle something fierce. Yes, Matt, just like I did back on Super Bowl Sunday in your garage, only more thoroughly.
The dogs look at me funny when I hobble around the house, now. I wonder if I look more edible to them...
-Rich
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
In Other News...
I haven't undertaken a new quixotic, faintly counterculture endeavor for a while.
I'm seriously thinking about learning to type on a Dvorak keyboard. I learned how to tap-type pretty quickly with a Fitaly PDA keyboard a year or two ago, so in theory learning Dvorak might not be too bad. Lots of devotees say they have no trouble switching their typing from Qwerty to Dvorak and back after learning.
Why? Why does one make beer and wine, decide to pick up a new programming language, or learn how to shave with 1908 technology? I am, spiritually, bored. I guess this is the way I miss having Leslie around the most. I could never truly be bored hanging out with her. :-)
-Rich
I'm seriously thinking about learning to type on a Dvorak keyboard. I learned how to tap-type pretty quickly with a Fitaly PDA keyboard a year or two ago, so in theory learning Dvorak might not be too bad. Lots of devotees say they have no trouble switching their typing from Qwerty to Dvorak and back after learning.
Why? Why does one make beer and wine, decide to pick up a new programming language, or learn how to shave with 1908 technology? I am, spiritually, bored. I guess this is the way I miss having Leslie around the most. I could never truly be bored hanging out with her. :-)
-Rich
Beware the Busybody Matchmaker
A busybody friend of a friend of mine from work is attempting to set me up with a friend of hers tonight. It will be a group of five of us (the matchmaker, the work friend, myself, and two friends of the matchmaker's) talking over wine at a local restaurant.
Might be fun, might be a little oversaturated. We shall certainly see. It's been a while since I was introduced to a lady sight unseen. At least the restaurant is heavily reputed to be good.
-Rich
Might be fun, might be a little oversaturated. We shall certainly see. It's been a while since I was introduced to a lady sight unseen. At least the restaurant is heavily reputed to be good.
-Rich
Monday, June 13, 2005
Late Happenings
First, yes, I have survived the rampaging of Arlene, the non-storm. To be fair, she did knock out my power for several hours Sunday morning, which has never before happened to me in Alabama.
It's been a good few weeks. I'm still loving the Altima. I'm getting all sorts of use out of the XM radio I plugged into it, and discovering a love for Jazz that I didn't know I had.
Work has been sort of slow as deliberately, deliberately we circle the next big version of the application I've been working on: meetings, documentation, much beating about the bush. It looks as though we're finally going to get moving on it soon--here's hoping!
Life after Leslie has been...okay, actually. Things were up in the air between us for long enough that any shock at parting seems to have been absorbed long ago. I certainly have more time to myself. I've even been on a date or two! My first initial feelers into the Birmingham online dating scene were met with some enthusiasm, actually (it's nice finally to be on the positive end of the men-get-more-distinguished-with-age cliché), but it remains to be seen whether I've crossed quite enough post-Leslie water to be plying new relationship seas just yet. Still, it's good to be out and meeting people.
-Rich
It's been a good few weeks. I'm still loving the Altima. I'm getting all sorts of use out of the XM radio I plugged into it, and discovering a love for Jazz that I didn't know I had.
Work has been sort of slow as deliberately, deliberately we circle the next big version of the application I've been working on: meetings, documentation, much beating about the bush. It looks as though we're finally going to get moving on it soon--here's hoping!
Life after Leslie has been...okay, actually. Things were up in the air between us for long enough that any shock at parting seems to have been absorbed long ago. I certainly have more time to myself. I've even been on a date or two! My first initial feelers into the Birmingham online dating scene were met with some enthusiasm, actually (it's nice finally to be on the positive end of the men-get-more-distinguished-with-age cliché), but it remains to be seen whether I've crossed quite enough post-Leslie water to be plying new relationship seas just yet. Still, it's good to be out and meeting people.
-Rich
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
The New Maxima Altima, Long May She Drive; Other News
Pretty, no? I changed the tags over today during lunch.
Sadly, in other news, Leslie and I have called a halt to our relationship. Things had been rocky for a while thanks to stress and obligations at home and at work for both of us, and this weekend we finally decided that things weren't working and that we weren't sure when/whether they were ever going to start again.
All's well; both of us were mature about it; it was a truly terrific year. :-D
-Rich
Friday, May 20, 2005
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
While I've Been Away
Hey everyone, sorry for the unannounced hiatus. It's been an eventful month or two.
The Pinot
The Pinot is bottled, as my previous post shows, and has been aging gracefully for a little over two months now. I tried some at one month, and it was promising, with a little more pungence than I liked, but less than when bottled. I plan to break out another bottle this weekend and see how things have changed then. Three months is about when the peak for this recipe should hit, so sometime in June will be the true test of the thing.
Classic or "Wet" Shaving
I stumbled across the late mini-craze in shaving one's face with an old-style double-edged razor (not the "cuttthroat" type, but the first incarnation of the "safety" razor pioneered by Gillette before getting into the disposable cartridge business), and decided to try it out, since I've never been truly happy with the shaves I've gotten from my electrics.
It's been a fascinating journey; I've grabbed myself a German-made Merkur Classic razor, a Vulfix 2197 shaving brush and several English shaving cream tubs from Truefitt & Hill, Geo. F. Trumper, and Taylor of Old Bond Street. So far the shaving has had its ups and downs as I've (finally) learned a shaving technique involving an actual blade, and as the skin of my face and neck has begun to adjust. My cheeks are finally baby-bottom smooth most days, but the skin of my neck is still fairly susceptible to redness and irritation. Ah, well.
Las Vegas
Leslie, myself and a few friends went to Las Vegas for Leslie's birthday at the end of last month. It was a complete blast; we stayed at the New York New York hotel, and did everything from breakfast buffet at the Bellagio hotel to visiting the top of the half-scale Effel Tower at the Paris hotel, to catching a Blue Man Group show at the Luxor. Much shopping and walking of the Strip was also done. All in all, a great trip and great visit. I would definitely go again.
Leslie's Move
Not content to have a hellacious few months at work and plan a trip to Vegas, Leslie bought a house this month, and there has been much painting and lifting and packing and unpacking activity around the event. Her house is beautiful, though, and the move went with precious few snags.
RIP for the Taurus
And on to the most recent event: I totaled the Taurus last Tuesday. I looked down to adjust my radio, and looked up into the back end of a Ford Windstar with a difference in speeds of about 25 or 30 mph. Crunch, airbags, horn stuck blaring. Thankfully neither I nor the guy in front of me were hurt seriously: I was stiff about the neck and shoulders (I braced with my arms and so never hit the wheel's airbag) for a few days but seem to have made a full recovery, and at last report the guy ahead of me was feeling some stiffness and had gone to the doctor for a precautionary look-over.
Insurance has been fantastic, and the new car search has netted a winner: I will be getting an "electric blue" 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 S (this pic isn't of my car [it's still in transit to the local CarMax], but stolen from another guy's site). Big enough to be useful, sleek enough to be fun, powerful enough to get from hither to yon, and cheap enough to be responsible. I'm not looking forward to a car payment, but the good news is that the monthly amount is low enough that I can double it most months without much pain.
Anyway, like I said, it's been an eventful pair of months; I do hope to do some more blogging from now on. :-)
-Rich
The Pinot
The Pinot is bottled, as my previous post shows, and has been aging gracefully for a little over two months now. I tried some at one month, and it was promising, with a little more pungence than I liked, but less than when bottled. I plan to break out another bottle this weekend and see how things have changed then. Three months is about when the peak for this recipe should hit, so sometime in June will be the true test of the thing.
Classic or "Wet" Shaving
I stumbled across the late mini-craze in shaving one's face with an old-style double-edged razor (not the "cuttthroat" type, but the first incarnation of the "safety" razor pioneered by Gillette before getting into the disposable cartridge business), and decided to try it out, since I've never been truly happy with the shaves I've gotten from my electrics.
It's been a fascinating journey; I've grabbed myself a German-made Merkur Classic razor, a Vulfix 2197 shaving brush and several English shaving cream tubs from Truefitt & Hill, Geo. F. Trumper, and Taylor of Old Bond Street. So far the shaving has had its ups and downs as I've (finally) learned a shaving technique involving an actual blade, and as the skin of my face and neck has begun to adjust. My cheeks are finally baby-bottom smooth most days, but the skin of my neck is still fairly susceptible to redness and irritation. Ah, well.
Las Vegas
Leslie, myself and a few friends went to Las Vegas for Leslie's birthday at the end of last month. It was a complete blast; we stayed at the New York New York hotel, and did everything from breakfast buffet at the Bellagio hotel to visiting the top of the half-scale Effel Tower at the Paris hotel, to catching a Blue Man Group show at the Luxor. Much shopping and walking of the Strip was also done. All in all, a great trip and great visit. I would definitely go again.
Leslie's Move
Not content to have a hellacious few months at work and plan a trip to Vegas, Leslie bought a house this month, and there has been much painting and lifting and packing and unpacking activity around the event. Her house is beautiful, though, and the move went with precious few snags.
RIP for the Taurus
And on to the most recent event: I totaled the Taurus last Tuesday. I looked down to adjust my radio, and looked up into the back end of a Ford Windstar with a difference in speeds of about 25 or 30 mph. Crunch, airbags, horn stuck blaring. Thankfully neither I nor the guy in front of me were hurt seriously: I was stiff about the neck and shoulders (I braced with my arms and so never hit the wheel's airbag) for a few days but seem to have made a full recovery, and at last report the guy ahead of me was feeling some stiffness and had gone to the doctor for a precautionary look-over.Insurance has been fantastic, and the new car search has netted a winner: I will be getting an "electric blue" 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 S (this pic isn't of my car [it's still in transit to the local CarMax], but stolen from another guy's site). Big enough to be useful, sleek enough to be fun, powerful enough to get from hither to yon, and cheap enough to be responsible. I'm not looking forward to a car payment, but the good news is that the monthly amount is low enough that I can double it most months without much pain.Anyway, like I said, it's been an eventful pair of months; I do hope to do some more blogging from now on. :-)
-Rich
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